Achieving education for girls in developing countries has been at the forefront of myriad humanitarian organizations, such as UNICEF and Save the Children for many decades. It is commonly referred to as the “cure” intervention to eradicate gender inequality between boys and girls. There are a variety of advantages to obtaining an education. First, it produces better health outcomes. It will enable individuals to make informed decisions about their health. Secondly, it propels a sense of economic empowerment. Education and income are linked together. The more education one has, the higher one’s income will be. Additionally, it will create sustainable environmental development.
Education is inextricably linked to many of the sustainable development goals. It is connected to other sectors, such as nutrition, access to clean water, sanitation, and health. They are SDGs 2, 6, and 3, respectively. SDG 4 directly relate to quality education and access to education. Other sustainable development goals that could be impacted on whether we achieve education for girls are SDGs 10, 6, 1, and 7, which focus on reduced gender inequalities, clean water/sanitation, poverty alleviation, and energy respectively.
According to the United Nations, obtaining a high-quality education is the solid foundation for achieving sustainable development. Also, it equips individuals with a wide knowledge base along with an arsenal of skills to solve some of the biggest problems our world currently faces, such as climate change. An astounding statistic I learned is that over 265 million children are currently out of school at both the primary and secondary school levels. 22% of school-aged children unenrolled in school belong in the primary school age group. A second statistic I read is that over 617 million children all over the world do not meet the basic proficiencies in reading and math. Lastly, the United Nations stated that approximately 50% of children who are not in school are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
All of these issues can be attributed to a variety of factors, such as the infrastructure and the pedagogical quality. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a majority of countries sorely lack the necessities to live self-sufficient, independent lives with dignity. People must construct poverty as complex and multidimensional. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of two regions that have higher rates of poverty. Besides lacking income, many individuals from these lack access to health care, education, and basic amenities, such as sanitation and food.
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